Semiconductor memory devices, including flash memory, typically utilize memory cells to store data as an electrical value, such as an electrical charge or voltage. A flash memory cell, for example, includes a single transistor with a floating gate that is used to store a charge representative of a data value. Some flash memory cells store multiple bits of data (multi-level cell, “MLC”), enhancing data storage density as compared to single-level cells (SLC) that store one bit of data. However, as a number of bits stored per cell increases, bit errors in stored data typically increase and, additionally, an MLC flash memory device or MLC memory portion of a flash memory device wears faster and reaches end-of-life conditions faster than an SLC flash memory device or SLC memory portion of a flash memory device. Therefore, MLC flash memory devices are typically retired or removed from a storage system earlier than SLC flash memory devices.